IGE Returning to Philadelphia Sept. 30 to Teach Ethics Training

Posted on Sep 23, 2015 10:52am PDT

(Madison, WI) - The
Institute for Global Ethics (IGE), the country’s leading ethics think tank, is returning to
Philadelphia Sept. 30 to teach another ethics training for area nonprofit
and business leaders.

A kickoff event in August attracted enough participants that the nonprofit
organization has
added a second date: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the offices of The Pew Charitable
Trusts at One Commerce Square, 2005 Market St., Suite 2800.

IGE is positioned to provide subsidized ethics trainings on an unprecedented
scale in the greater Philadelphia area, thanks to a $25,000 sponsorship
through Philadelphia’s
Hamilton Family Foundation, a private foundation that supports education for underserved Philadelphia
youth, and through additional funding the organization is seeking.

“IGE trainers will go into local businesses, grade schools, community
colleges, universities, nonprofits and municipal government offices —
anywhere we’re invited in each target city, and particularly in
organizations that may not otherwise have the resources to provide ethics
training to their members,” says IGE President and C.E.O. Anthony J. Gray.

Katie Micciolo, director of development at
St. Francis de Sales School in West Philadelphia, found IGE’s August training to be insightful
and relevant to her daily work. She regularly encounters ethical dilemmas
and socially enforced cycles of poor decision-making among her students.

“I think families of our students may find themselves in situations
that compromise their ethical standards because of the stressful financial
situations they face,” she says. Teachers and school staff often
become involved in parent-child or child-child conflicts “because
these types of confrontations can become very volatile.”

Applying IGE’s ethical framework “would be helpful for the
teachers who are placed in situations where they know children are making
decisions based on how their home life is managed,” Micciolo says.

Rachel Loeper, education director at
Mighty Writers, the after-school writing program with four locations across Philadelphia,
also sees potential organizational benefits from ethics training after
participating in IGE’s training.

Lots of passionate people at Mighty Writers — students, staff and
volunteers — want what is best for kids, but “deciding what
is best for kids isn't always easy. It's a judgment wrapped up
with individuals' values,” she says. “The Ethical Fitness
framework provided a new way for me to frame these important conversations.”

“In order to be successful, we believe students need to write and
think with clarity. Ethical training provides a clear framework and philosophy
for good decision-making,” she added.

Another IGE training participant, Teresa Araco Rodgers, founder of the
philanthropy advisory firm
harp-weaver LLC, says the training opened her eyes to the value of applying a framework
to handle the complexity of decisions to “do the right thing.”

In working with clients, “even within a family there can be such
varied perspectives, and the process of coming together and agreeing on
a set of values can be difficult. … Sometimes we may use shorthand
and not fully get to consider all aspects,” she says. “I see
the benefit of applying a framework so that all options and the cause/effect
can be explored and considered.”

About IGE: Founded in 1990, with offices in New York City, Camden, Maine and headquartered
in Madison, Wisconsin, the Institute for Global Ethics in is an independent,
nonsectarian, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated
to promoting ethical action in a global context.

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